Method of making pile fabric



Dec. 12, 1967 M. A. LAW

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l 1 BAZVIN A L ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,357,075 METHOD OF MAKING FILE FABRIC Marvin A. Law, Spray, N.C., assignor to Fielder-est Mills, Inc., Spray, N .C., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 9, 1965, Ser. No. 486,157 Claims. (Cl. 28-72) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method of obtaining multi-height pile fabrics from fabrics woven of a common pile height and also of modifying the heights of other pile fabrics originally woven with a plurality of heights. This is accomplished by incorporating a shrinkable component with certain pile yarns, which upon such pile yarns being subjected to a shrinking operation, reduces the height thereof to permit the other non-shrunken pile yarns to then be subjected to a shearing operation after which the shrunken yarns are released from the influence of the shrinkable component to extend to a greater height. Additional effects are obtained by utilizing combinations of pre-shrunk pile yarns, partially shrunk and unshrunk shrinkable pile yarns with shrinkable components.

This invention relates to pile fabrics and, more particularly, to a novel method of making variant-height pile fabrics, such as terry fabric, and to a related novel pile fabric product.

Heretofore, it has been proposed to produce pile fabrics, including terry fabrics, whose pile faces include low cut pile and high loop pile. However, as to terry fabrics in particular, there has been'no known method which could be employed to produce clearly defined intricately configured design areas, as would ordinarily be obtained by jacquard weaving, in which the design areas include low cut pile and high loop pile.

Accordingly, it is an important object of this invention to provide an improved method of making a pile fabric and the resulting product, wherein the fabric has a pile surface on at least one side thereof, and which method permits obtaining unusual aesthetic effects not previously obtainable by mass production techniques in which jacquard-type decorative motifs may be provided which are defined by areas of high uncut pile and areas of low cut pile in the pile surface or surfaces of the fabric.

A more specific object is to provide a novel method which comprises forming a pile fabric including at least one loop pile surface having certain shrunken piles or pile areas of reduced height relative to other piles or pile areas, and wherein the shrunken piles include a shrunken fiber component restraining the corresponding piles at the reduced height, then shearing or otherwise removing upper end portions or tips of the other piles to form cut pile therefrom, and then treating at least the shrunken piles to modify the shrunken fiber component thereof to nullify the restraint on the piles to permit them to extend to a greater height than that height thereof while the other 'piles were being sheared. The first piles preferably havea height, after modification of the shrunken fiber component thereof, substantially the same as or greater than the height of the second piles.

Another object is to provide a pile fabric made according to the method described.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one pile surface 3,357,975 Patented Dec. 12, 1967 ice of a towel exemplifying one form of pile fabric produced in accordance with the method of this invention;

FIGURE IR is a perspective view of the reverse side of the towel of FIGURE 1;

FIGURES 1A, 1B and 1C are sectional views representing successive stages or steps in one embodiment of the method of the present invention, and being taken substantially along line 1C1C in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of one pile surface of a towel exemplifying another form of pile fabric produced in accordance with the method of this invention;

FIGURE 2R is a perspective view of the reverse side of the towel of FIGURE 2;

FIGURES 2A, 2B and 2C are sectional views representing successive stages or steps in another embodiment of the method of the present invention, and being taken substantially along line 2C2C in FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view similar to FIGURES 1A and ZA, showing still another form of product which may be produced in accordance with the method of this invention.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the towel fabrics 10, 30 and 50 shown in FIGURES 1, 1R; 2, 2R; and 3 are exemplary of many different types of pile fabrics which may be produced in accordance with the present invention and each of such fabrics may be produced by various techniques of application of the basic method of the present invention, several examples of which will be described hereinafter, Basic to the method, as practiced in each of the examples, is the original formation of the pile surface or surfaces, or portions thereof, from latently shrinkable and extensible pile yarn which has been, or is capable of being, shrunk when subjected to a shrinking treatment, but which can be substantially restored to its original condition or effective length upon being subjected to another treatment. More specifically, such shrinkable yarn may be formed of conventional nonshrinkable or relatively low shrinkable textile fibers or strand material combined with shrinkage-component textile fibers or strand material which, when subjected to a shrinkage treatment, will shrink to a substantially greater extent than the conventional fiber or strand material combined therewith, but which will bulk, and thereby reduced the effective length of, the conventional fiber or strand material as compared to its normal length. Further, upon subjecting the shrinkage-component yarn to another suitable treatment subsequent to the shrinkage treatment, the shrinkage-component fiber or strand is modified, purged or removed from, and thereby releases, the conventional fiber or strand material previously combined therewith so that it is restored substantially to its original effective length.

According to the invention, pile fabric having piles or pile areas formed of such a shrinkage-component pile yarn are shrunken and/or the shrinkage-component removed therefrom relative to other adjacent piles or pile areas to cause certain first piles to project above other second piles. The said first piles are then sheared or the upper portions thereof are otherwise removed, whereupon the shrinkage-component (which has been retained in the said second, lower piles) is removed from the said second piles so their height is increased. Thus, depending upon the original shrinkability of the yarn of which the second piles were formed, the second piles ultimately may be of substantially the same or greater height than the cut first piles.

Terry pile fabric has been chosen as a suitable form of pile fabric to be used for illustrative purposes, and a terry pile fabric having pile surfaces on both sides thereof has been chosen in order to clearly describe certain aesthetic effects which may be obtained through practice of the method of the present invention. Terry fabrics are usually, but not always, woven with terry pile of uniform height and, therefore, the invention is important for obtaining variable height pile surfaces on terry fabrics which may be woven with piles of uniform height. It is to be understood, however, that the method of the present invention is not limited solely to terry pile fabrics or to pile fabrics having pile surfaces on both sides thereof, but that the method of this invention may be applied to pile fabrics of various types and constructions.

EXAMPLE I The terry fabric used in the towel shown in FIG- URES 1 and IR provides a novel aesthetic effect in that similar decorative motifs appear in the pile surfaces on both sides of the terry pile fabric, which motifs include areas of high pile and areas of low sheared or cut pile. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the method of this invention, a terry pile fabric having pile surfaces on both sides thereof will have decorative motifs appearing on the two pile surfaces which are mirror image reversals. Such decorative motif areas are indicated in FIG- URES 1 and IR in the form of two crossed bars, or an X, and two circles or dots, although it is to be understood that the decorative motifs may take any of a variety of other configurations. As indicated, the decorative motif on the first pile surface of the fabric (FIGURE 1) is defined against a background of low cut pile by areas of high loop pile. On the opposite face of the pile fabric (FIGURE 1R), the background against which the decorative motif appears is defined by areas of high loop pile, while the motif itself is defined by areas of low cut pile.

The steps of making a pile fabric such as the fabric used for the towel 10 may best be described with reference to sectional views of the fabric in various stages of manufacture (FIGURES lA-lC), taken looking in the warpwise direction of the towel 10 shown in FIGURES 1 and IR. More particularly, a decorative motif may be woven into a terry pile fabric produced on a jacquard loom, as is conventionally known, using two groups of pile yarns positioned, under the control of a jacquard pattern mechanism, to be thrown to one or the other orboth sides of the base fabric in predetermined areas of the fabric as woven. In conventional use of such a loom, the two groups of pile yarns may be of different colors, if desired, to create a decorative motif of one color appearing against a background of the other color.

In producing a pile fabric in accordance with this example of the method of this invention, and particularly in producing a terry pile fabric such as used for the towel 10 of FIGURES 1 and IR, base fabric 20 (FIGURES lA-lC) may be formed by interweaving ground warp and filling yarns. Simultaneously, two types of pile yarns are interwoven with the base fabric 20 to project from the two sides thereof and form pile faces. Of the two types of pile yarns forming the pile surfaces, one first type may be any suitable conventional yarn, such as cotton or other cellulosic fiber. The other or second type of yarn may include a relatively non-shrinkable or low-shrinkage component and a relatively high-shrinkage-causing component which is effective, upon proper treatment, to reduce the length of an increment of the yarn, and which is removable from the low-shrinkage component upon subsequent treatment so as to restore the increment of yarn to its original length.

The term conventional, as used herein with respect to the first type of pile yarn, is meant to include any type of yarn which will not shrink to the extent that the shrinkagecomponent of the second yarn will shrink or cause the second yarn to retract when the two yarns are subjected to a shrinking treatment. For descriptive purposes only, the second type of pile yarn may be termed as a latently shrinkable and extensible yarn or a shrinkage-component yarn," which term is used to indicate that any given increment of such yarn may be shrunk to reduce its length and, by a subsequent suitable restoring treatment, the corresponding shrunken increment of yarn will be substantially restored to its original length.

In weaving the fabric to be used for the towel 10, the first or conventional pile yarn is thrown to one side of the base fabric 20 to form a pile surface in predetermined areas of one side, and the second or shrinkage-component pile yarn is thrown to the same side to form the remaining areas of the pile surface, and the areas together form a predetermined pattern including the decorative motif and the background for the decorative motif. More particularly, as shown in FIGURE 1A, terry pile of substantially uniform height is formed of both types of pile yarn at each of the upper and lower sides of the base fabric 20. For descriptive purposes, the fabric in FIGURE 1A is divided into predetermined areas, with the division between adjacent areas being represented by vertically extending dash-dot lines.

Certain pile areas, indicated at 21, define the background against which the decorative motif will appear. Other pile areas, indicated at 22, form portions of the legs of the X portion of the decorative motif. A central pile area, indicated at 23, forms the corresponding dot portion of the decorative motif (FIGURES 1 and IR).

Considering the upper side of the pile fabric, the background areas 21 may be formed by terry pile loops of conventional yarn, such as cotton. The decorative motif areas 22, 23 on the upper side of the fabric will be formed by terry loop pile of the latently shrinkable and extensible yarn, including a shrinkage-causing component. Due to the operation of jacquard weaving, the background areas 21 of the lower pile surface of the fabric will be formed by the latently shrinkable and extensible yarn while the decorative motif areas 22, 23 of the lower pile surface will be formed as terry loop pile of conventional yarn.

Thereafter, the pile fabric may be subjected to a uniform shrinkage treatment, effective to cause the shrinkage-causing component in the second type of yarn to reduce the effective length of increments of that yarn as shown in FIGURE 1B. Upon this shrinkage treatment, pile in areas defined by the second type of yarn, such as the decorative motif areas 22, 23 on the upper pile surface of fabric 10 and the background areas 21 on the lower pile'surface, is recessed relative to pile in the adjacent'areas formed by conventional pile yarn. This occurs due to the shrinkage or retraction of the second type of yarn, and effectively lowers and restrains the pile loops in the designated areas by drawing the terry loop pile closer to the base fabric 20.

Thereafter, the pile fabric is sheared, by conventional or other suitable means, to remove upper end portions of the pile in the unrecessed areas. Shearing takes place, for example, along the dash-dot lines 24 (FIGURE 1B), to

. form areas of cut pile. During the shearing step, the recessed pile areas are restrained in the recessed position, thus facilitating the shearing of the corresponding pile areas with conventional shearing equipment.

Thereafter, the pile fabric 10 is suitably treated to modify the high-shrink component or remove the same from the low-shrink component of the second type of yarn and thereby permit the loop pile formed therefrom to again extend substantially to the normal, as-woven, height. Thus, the areas formed of the previously shrunken or retracted pile yarn may project relative to the cut pile, as shown in FIGURE 1C, so the cut pile areas may be recessed relative to the adjacent loop pile areas. It is apparent that, in the final product (FIGURES 1, IR and 1C), the decorative motif areas 22, 23 appearing at the upper pile surface (FIGURE 1) may be formed of high loop pile, and the background areas 21 appearing at the upper pile surface may be formed of low cut or sheared pile recessed relative to the decorative motif areas 22, 23. On the lower side of the pile fabric (FIGURE IR),

due to the mirror image reversal of the decorative motif resulting from jacquard weaving, the decorative motif areas 22, 23 may be formed of low cut pile and the background areas 21 may be formed of high loop pile.

Types of latently shrinkable and extensible yam In practicing the method of the present invention as outlined above, various types of yarns may be used as the latently shrinkable and extensible second yarn, and various shrinkage-causing components may be employed. More particularly, the second yarn may be produced by blending or doubling high-shrink modacrylic fibers, such as Verel Type -III, Dynel or the like, with cotton or other cellulosic textile fibers. Such a shrinkage-component yarn would be shrunk by subjecting the fabric, whose pile is made from these two types of yarns, to treatment in water slightly under the boil. Thereafter, and following the shearing of the unrecessed pile, the modacrylic shrinkage-causing component may be removed by treating the fabric with acetone.

A second type of shrinkage-component yarn may be produced by blending or doubling high-shrink acrylic fibers with cotton or other suitable cellulosic textile fibers. After forming the pile fabric, as in FIGURE 1A for example, from the first yarn and from the second type of shrinkage-component yarn, the fabric would be treated in water at about boiling temperature to shrink the pile formed of the shrinkage-component yarn. Thereafter, and following the shearing of unrecessed pile, the shrinkagecausing acrylic component may be removed from the low-shrink component with ethylene carbonate.

A third, preferred type of shrinkage-component yarn is obtained by blending or doubling polyvinyl alcohol fibers with cotton or other suitable cellulosic textile fibers. Such a shrinkage-component yarn may be shrunk in water at approximately 100 F. and, following the subsequent removal of upper end portions of pile in the unrecessed areas, the shrinkage-causing polyvinyl alcohol fibers may be removed by treatment in Water at about boiling temperature.

EXAMPLE II A pile fabric, such as is embodied in the towel (FIG- URES 1-1C), also may be obtained without subjecting the fabric to a uniform shrinkage treatment. It has previously been proposed that pile fabrics, such as terry pile fabrics, may be Woven on a pattern controlled loom, such as a jacquard loom, which is adjusted to form pile of two heights. With particular reference to the weaving of terry pile fabrics, two sets of terry warp yarns may be used and the loom may be equipped with a variable let-01f mechanism which releases one set of terry warp yarns to move more freely than the other set of terry warp yarns, and vice versa in alternating sequence, during successive fast picks of the loom, in which a filling yarn is beat up against the fell of the fabric, so as to cause the terry warp yarns to form terry pile of different heights at the selected pile surface or surfaces of the fabric. A loom of this type is disclosed in my US. Patent No. 3,072,153.

Utilizing a loom of this type, the pile surface or surfaces are formed from a conventional pile yarn and from a latently shrinkable and extensible yarn, or shrinkagecomponent yarn, the latter of which may be shrunk prior to the weaving operation. High loop piles or pile areas would be formed from the conventional pile yarn and the preshrunk shrinkage-component pile yarn would he used to form a lower height of pile than that formed of the conventional yarn as the fabric is woven. The resultant fabric, as woven, then may correspond in appearance to the fabric as shown in FIGURE 1B.

Thereafter, the high loop areas of the fabric may be sheared, as along dash-dot lines 24, to form areas of cut pile. The shrinkage-causing component of the yarns forming the lower height of pile, as woven, then may be removed by subjecting the fabric to a suitable treatment, to

permit the terry loop pile formed thereby to extend to substantially the same height as or to a greater height than the cut pile in the other areas to thereby form the other areas as recessed areas of cut pile. The ultimate product of this example of the present invention (FIG- URE 1C) may be indistinguishable from the ultimate product of the method as heretofore described in EX- ample I.

As may be appreciated, the correlation between the level at which the high loop areas of the fabric at an intermediate step (FTGURE 1B) is sheared, with respect to the degree to which the temporarily shrunk pile yarns are to be extended upon removal of the shrinkage-causing component, may be such that the loop pile areas of the finished product fabric (FIGURE 10) may form a pile surface substantially level with the pile surface formed by the sheared areas. Thus, instead of the cut pile areas being shorter than the loop pile areas in the finished product, as shown in FIGURE 1C, the pile surface or surfaces of the fabric would be of a common height, with predetermined areas of the pile surface appearing as cut pile and adjacent areas appearing as loop pile, in order to define the decorative motif and background areas.

EXAMPLE III In accordance with a third example of the method of this invention, it is possible to obtain further novel aesthetic effects in the application of decorative motifs to pile fabrics, and particularly, it is possible to obtain novel aesthetic effects with terry pile fabrics having pile on both sides thereof which have been unobtainable, to my knowledge, with previous methods of making such pile fabrics. Such a novel aesthetic effect is illustrated in the towel 30 (FIGURES 2 and 2R) wherein an upper side of the towel 30 (FIGURE 2) has a first decorative motif, such as an X or crossed bars and two small triangular areas on either side of the X. The opposite, or lower, side of the towel 30 (FIGURE 2R) may have an entirely dissimilar decorative motif, such as a diamond-shaped arrangement of bars.

While particular decorative motifs have been chosen for purposes of illustration, it is to be understood that the present example of the method is not limited to those particular decorative motifs, but may be used to obtain any desired dissimilar or similar decorative motifs appearing on the two sides of a pile fabric. Further, it is possible, in accordance with this example of the present method, to omit the pile surface from one face of the fabric, or to provide a uniform loop or cut pile on one face of the fabric, While providing a decorative motif on the other face only of the pile fabric, if such is desired.

According to this example, a pile fabric may be woven as shown in FIGURE 2A and having a base fabric 40 of interwoven ground warp and filling yarns with pile all of the same height extending from one or both sides of the base fabric 40 to form a pile surface for the fabric. As illustrated, both sides of towel 30 are provided with pile surfaces wherein all the pile is formed of a latently shrinkable and extensible or shrinkage-component yarn, such as those described above.

After the fabric is woven, selected areas of the pile surface or surfaces of the fabric which are desired as loop pile areas may be treated to shrink and thereby recess the pile in predetermined areas with respect to pile in other areas of the pile surface. To this end, a shrinkage-causing medium, such as water or an aqueous suspension paste material, may be applied to selected areas of the pile surface, as by printing or similar means, so as to saturate such areas. Thereafter, the fabric may be subjected to dry heat at sufliciently elevated temperature to cause activation of the shrinkage-causing component by the presence of moisture, thereby reducing the incremental length of the yarn forming the pile in the areas to which the shrinkage-causing medium was applied while drying the areas so treated. it is to be noted that, in this particular example,

the shrinkage-causing component of the pile yarn should be of a type, such as polyvinyl alcohol fibers, which will not shrink when subjected to dry heat so that only those treated pile areas, which were saturated by the shrinkcausing medium, will shrink at the elevated temperature. The shrinkage-causing medium may be rendered effective, or heated, to activate the shrink-causing component at the time of application thereof to selected areas of the pile surface, if desired.

As shown in FIGURES 2 and 2R, the decorative motifs on the upper and lower pile surfaces of towel 30 may appear as areas of high loop pile against background areas of low cut pile. Accordingly, in order to ultimately form high loop portions of the X motif, the triangle motifs and the diamond motif shown in FIGURES 2 and 2R, a shrinkage-causing medium, such as water, is applied to corresponding areas 42, 43 (FIGURE 2A) of the upper pile surface and to the areas 45 of the lower surface of the fabric, preferably by means of a printing process.

Areas 41, 44 form backgrounds against which the decorative motifs are to appear on the respective upper and lower sides of the pile fabric and are not treated with a shrinkage-causing medium. Since the printing of the shrinkcausing medium on the upper pile surface of the fabric determines only the decorative motif to appear at that surface (FIGURE 2), a separate printing operation may be carried out with respect to the lower pile surface of the fabric to obtain the decorative motif to appear at that surface (FIGURE 2R).

Thereafter, the pile fabric may be subjected to dry heat at sufficiently elevated temperature to activate the shrinkage-causing component in the presence of the shrinkage-causing medium, and to recess the decorative motif areas 42, 43, 45 to which the shrinkage-causing medium was applied, as shown in FIGURE 2B. By way of example, if the pile yarns are made of a blend or doublings of cotton and polyvinyl alcohol fibers, the wettreated or saturated areas 42, 43, 45 will shrink in dry heat at about 100 F. or above, but the dry or untreated areas 41, 44 will remain at the height they were formed during weaving.

Thereafter, while the recessed decorative motif pile areas 42, 43, 45 are retained in a recessed position relative to the adjacent background pile areas 41, 44, the upper end portions of unrecessed pile in the background areas 41, 44 are removed by shearing or other means, preferably along the dash-dot line 46 (FIGURE 2B). The fabric is then treated in a suitable manner to dissolve or otherwise remove the shrinkage-causing component from all the pile yarn, which is effective to release the pile in the decorative motif areas 42, 43, 45 so it will project above or to substantially the same height as the cut pile in the background areas 41, 44, even though the cut pile background areas had not been shrunken, thus clearly defining the decorative motifs (FIGURE 2C).

EXAMPLE IV In a fourth example of the method of the present invention, the fabric may be constructed in the manner heretofore described with respect to Example III. However, instead of treating and shrinking only those areas of the pile surface which are to be shrunk, as in Example III, the entire fabric, or at least the entire pile surface or surfaces, are subjected to a shrinkage treatment which reduces the height of all the pile as compared to that height at which it was originally formed. Thereafter, a suitable water-proofing or water-resistant material is applied to selected areas of the fabric which are to remain in the form of loops, such as the areas 42, 43, 45 of FIGURE 2A. Then, assuming that the shrinkagecausing component of the pile yarn is polyvinyl alcohol fiber or other water-soluble fiber, the fabric is treated again, as by means of hot water, to dissolve the shrinkagecausing component, in those areas of the pile which have not been treated by a water-proof material, from the relatively low-shrink or non-shrinkable component of the corresponding pile yarns so the loops thereof are restored to their originally woven height.

Thereafter, the loops that have been allowed to rise; i.e., the loops in the background areas, such as those indicated at 41, 44 in FIGURE 2B, are sheared or cut at 46, after which the fabric is subjected to a suitable treatment, such as a suitable additive to hot water, to remove the water-proof or water-resistant material from the pile areas previously treated therewith while also dissolving or purging the shrinkage-causing component from the corresponding pile areas to restore them substantially to their original height, in which condition they may project above the previously cut pile areas as shown in FIG- URE 2C.

EXAMPLE V While the various modifications of the method of the present invention described to this point have been directed primarily to the production of a final product having two heights of pile at the pile surface or surfaces of a pile fabric, the method of the present invention additionally contemplates the development of a pile surface having more than two heights of pile, and in which at least a lower height of pile is cut or sheared pile. While any desired decorative motif may be incorporated into the pile fabric having multiple heights of pile, for illustrative purposes the sectional view of the fabric 50 in FIG- URE 3 shows a multiple pile height fabric which may display decorative motifs similar to those on the towel 10 (FIGURES 1-lR). As heretofore described with reference to FIGURES 1, 1R, 1A, 1B and 1C, the X and dot portions 22, 23 of the decorative motif are formed of high pile on one of the pile surfaces (FIGURE 1A) and low cut pile on the other pile surface, with the decorative motif being defined against the background areas 22.

When such a decorative motif is embodied in a fabric including more than two heights of pile, as in the present example, the different segments of the decorative motif may appear as different heights of pile. By way of example, the areas 21' (FIGURE 3) forming the background against which the decorative motif appears may, on the upper surface of the fabric, be formed as areas of low cut pile, in similarity to corresponding portions 21 of the towel 10 of FIGURE 1. The areas 22' (FIG- URE 3) defining the X segment of the decorative motif may appear, on the upper side of the fabric, as areas of high loop pile, in similarity to corresponding areas of the towel 10 (FIGURE 1).

In distinction to the previously described forms, the decorative motif areas 23 defining the dot segments of the decorative motif are illustrated as being of an intermediate height cut pile projecting upwardly relative to the upper background areas 21 but recessed relative to the decorative motif areas 22 of high loop pile.

On the opposite or lower side of the fabric, identical areas are defined by pile of different heights, with the background areas 21 appearing on the lower side of the fabric as high loop pile; the decorative motif areas 22 defining the X portions of the decorative motif being of low cut pile; and the decorative motif areas 23', defining the dot portion of the decorative motif, being of intermediate height cut pile.

According to this example, the pile fabric 50 may be woven with all the pile on each face thereof being of the same height and may include three types of pile yarns forming the pile surface or surfaces, namely, a substantially non-shrinkable or relatively low-shrink conventional pile yarn, a partially preshrunk shrinkage-component pile yarn of one of the types described above, and an unshrunk shrinkage-component yarn. The fabric would be produced with the various yarns appearing in predetermined areas of the pile surface according to the desired pattern. With particular reference to FIGURE 3, as woven, a base or ground 51 is formed and the background areas 21' of the upper pile surface and the X 9 motif areas 22' on the lower pile surface would be formed of the conventional pile yarn; the dot portions 23 on both sides of the fabric would be formed of the partially preshrunk pile yarn; and the background areas 21 of the lower pile surface, as well as the X motif areas 22 on the upper pile surface, would be formed of the unshrunk shrinkage-component pile yarn, for example, with all the piles being of substantially the same height on each side of the fabric.

After weaving the fabric of the three types of pile yarns, it is subjected to a uniform shrinkage treatment, effective to recess the pile areas formed by the two shrinkage-component yarns to differential distances below the adjacent pile in areas formed by conventional yarn. In other words, the pile formed of the partially preshrunk shrinkage-component yarn, not having the degree of shrinkability of the previously unshrunk shrinkage-component yarn, would not be recessed relative to the pile formed of the conventional yarn to the same extent as that pile formed of the previously unshrunk shrinkagecomponent yarn.

Thereafter, the fabric is sheared, by any suitable means, to remove upper or free end portions of pile formed by conventional yarn and by that shrinkage-component yarn which was preshrunk before weaving the fabric. In this instance, the upper or free end portions of the pile in areas 21, 23' of the upper pile surface and in areas 22', 23' of the lower pile surface (FIGURE 3) would be removed so they would project about the same distance from th base 50. 1

Thereafter, the fabric is subjected to a treatment to remove the shrinkage-causing component, permitting pile formed by the originally unshrunk shrinkage-component yarn to extend to the original, as woven, height. Since the shrinkage-component removing treatment has little, if any, affect on the pile formed of conventional yarn, the cut pile formed of the originally partially preshrunk shrinkage-component yarn will extend to an intermediate height greater than that of the cut pile formed of the conventional yarn, but lesser than the unsheared pile formed of the originally unshrunken shrinkagecomponent yarn.

Thus, the upper pile surface areas 21 (FIGURE 3) and lower pile surface areas 22 originally formed of conventional pile yarn will ultimately form low cut-pile areas; the upper and lower pile surface areas 23 originally formed of partially preshrunk shrinkage-component pile yarn will ultimately form intermediate height cut-pile areas; and the upper pile surface areas 22' and lower file surface areas 21 originally formed of unshrunk shrinkage-component pile yarn will ultimately form relatively high pile areas which may remain in loop form. It is to be assumed that both shrinkage-component yarns had substantially the same degree of shrinkability before the yarn of which the upper and lower areas 23' were formed was preshrunk.

Also, it is apparent that the degree of shrinkability of the two shrinkage-component yarns relative to that of the conventional yarn determines the pile height differential in the various pile areas. With this in mind, it is apparent that the ultimately formed high loop pile areas 21' of the lower pile surface (FIGURE 3) and 22' of the upper pile surface may be sheared to result in relatively high cut pile therefrom which is higher than the aforementioned low and intermediate cut-pile areas of the fabric of this fifth example.

EXAMPLE VI The pile areas 23' of FIGURE 3 may be retained in loop form, if desired, since the shrinkage treatment reduces the height of those pile areas formed of either shrinkage-component yarn, so that, by suitably controlling the shearing mechanism, the upper portions of loops formed of the conventional pile yarn only would be cut. In other words, only the pile areas 21 of the upper pile surface and pile areas 22' of the lower pile surface would be ultimately in the form of cut pile.

10 EXAMPLE v11 In my US. Patent No. 3,030,691, I disclose and claim a pile fabric and method in which loop pile is formed from at least two different types of pile yarns, one of which is capable of shrinking more than the other. Thus, in the instance in which the loop pile of the latter fabric is originally formed of about the same height, a shrinkage treatment reduces the length of those loops formed of one type yarn relative to the length of the loops formed of the other type yarn.

In this instant example, as in said patent, a permanently shrinkable pile yarn, which may have a shrinkage-component therein but which shrinkage-component is not to be modified or removed from the yarn, is used in forming certain loop pile areas. Also, a conventional lowshrinkage or substantially non-shrinkable yarn is used for forming other pile areas, such areas or piles being combined in a single fabric with other pile areas formed of a removable-shrinkage-component pile yarn. Such a fabric may include relatively high loop pile areas, relatively low loop pile areas, medium-high cut pile or loop pile areas, and medium-low cut pile areas. In forming the fabric, it may be woven with the pile surface or surfaces thereof all of substantially the same height and those areas which are ultimately to be formed of high loop pile would be formed from unshrunken shrinkage-component yarn. Those piles or pile areas which are ultimately to be in the form of relatively low loop pile are formed from a permanently shrinkable yarn. Those pile areas which are ultimately to be in the form of medium-high cut pile are originally formed, as loops, from a partially pre-shrunk shrinkage-component pile yarn, and those areas which are ultimately to be in the form of medium-low cut pile areas also are originally formed, as loops, from a conventional yarn.

Thus, upon subjecting the fabric to a uniform shrinkage treatment, and assuming that the shrinkability of the permanently shrinkable yarn is substantially the same as that of the shrinkage-component yarns, the pile areas formed of the unshrunk shrinkage-component yarn and the permanently shrinkable yarn are reduced in height to less than the height of the areas formed of the preshrunk yarn, and the piles formed of the preshrunk yarn are reduced in height relative to the pile areas formed of the conventional yarn.

Thereafter, the upper portions or tips of the loop piles formed of the conventional yarn and the preshrunk yarn are removed, as by shearing, so they project substantially the same distance from the base of the fabric. The fabric then is subjected to a shrinkage-component-removing treatment which removes the shrinkage-component from thes originally unshrunk and originally preshrunk shrinkage-component yarns without removing any shrinkagecomponent from the permanently shrinkable yarn. Since the latter treatment may not affect the permanently shrinkable yarn and the conventional yarn to any noticeable extent, the height of the pile areas formed of the permanently shrinkable yarn would remain relatively low and the height of the pile areas formed of the conventional yarn would remain at that height resulting from the shearing of the same. Thus, the cut pile areas formed of the originally preshrunk pile yarn would be increased to a height greater than the height of the cut pile areas formed from the conventional yarn, and the loop pile areas formed from the originally unshrunk shrinkagecomponent yarn would be increased to substantially the orginal, as woven, height, which would be a greater height than any of the cut pile areas.

It is apparent that in making pile fabric according to this example, the various yarns must be so selected that the required treatment of one type yarn will not adversely affect another type or types of yarns in the fabric being processed. By way of example, the permanently shrinkable pile yarn may be made from a blend of high-shrink Dynel or comparable modacrylic fibers and cotton fibers;

the substantially non-shrinkable pile yarn may be made from cotton fibers; and the latently shrinkable and extensible or shrinkage-component yarns may be made from a blend of polyvinyl alcohol fibers and cotton fibers. After weaving, the fabric thus formed is saturated with water while on a suitable pad, after which the saturated fabric is passed into a suitable drying machine which gradually heats the saturated fabric so that, when the fabric reaches a temperature of approximately 100 F., the polyvinyl alcohol fibers shrink and reduce the height of the loops formed of the shrinkage-component yarns. Then, while the fabric is still within the drying machine and, being partially dried, the temperature of the fabric increases to about 180 F., thus effecting shrinkage of the piles of permanently shrinkable yarn.

It should be noted that polyvinyl alcohol fibers normally do not dissolve in dry air at the temperatures required in order to shrink Dynel modacrylic fibers. Thus, since most of the water has been removed from the piles by the time the temperature has increased from that required to shrink the polyvinyl alcohol fibers to that required to shrink the Dynel fibers, the shrinkage of the permanently shrinkable yarn at about 180 F. does not remove the shrinkage-component from those piles formed of the latently shrinkable and extensible yarns.

After the fabric becomes substantially dried, it is removed from the drying machine and the tips of the loop piles formed of the conventional yarn and the preshrunk yarn are sheared. The fabric then is subjected to hot water at about boiling temperature to dissolve the polyvinyl alcohol fibers from the corresponding piles and permit them to relax and extend. As heretofore stated, the resultant fabric may have cut piles formed of originally preshrunk pile yarn whose height is greater than that of the cut piles formed from conventional yarn, and the loop piles formed from the originally unshrunk shrinkage-component yarn may be of a height substantially corresponding to the original, as woven, height, which is greater than that of any of the cut piles or cut pile areas.

Alternatively, instead of making the shrinkage-component yarns from polyvinyl alcohol fibers and cotton fibers, the shrinkage-component yarns may be made from a blend of high-shrink acrylic fibers and cotton fibers. In this instance, however, the fabric is immersed in a bath of water at a temperature of about 180 F., or above, to shrink both the permanently shrinkable yarn and the shrinkage-component yarns. Thereafter, the fabric is dried, the piles formed of conventional yarn and the preshrunk yarn are sheared, and then the fabric is washed in a bath of ethylene carbonate solution to wash the acrylic fibers out of the piles formed of the shrinkage-component yarns and permit them to extend to a greater height. Since the ethylene carbonate solution would have little, if any, effect on the Dynel fibers, the piles formed of the permanently shrinkable yarn would remain at a reduced height.

EXAMPLE VIII The pile fabric of this example may be processed and formed in a manner quite similar to the pile fabric of Example VII with the exception that none of the latently shrinkable and extensible, or shrinkage-component yarns would be preshrunk before weaving the fabric, with the result that the ultimate fabric would have high loop piles formed from all the shrinkage-component yarns, low loop piles formed from the permanently shrinkable yarn and medium-height cut piles formed from the conventional yarn, assuming of course that only the piles formed of the conventional yarns are sheared or cut following the shrinkage treatment and preceding the treatment thereof which removes the shrinkage-component from the shrinkage-component yarns.

12 EXAMPLE or The pile fabric of this example may have a pile surface or surfaces provided with areas of relatively high loops, areas of relatively low loops and areas of cut pile which are of substantially the same height as the low loop pile areas. To this end, the fabric is originally woven with high loop piles formed from a conventional pile yarn and low loop piles formed from conventional pile yarn, with other loop piles formed from shrinkagecomponent pile yarn, and being about the same height as the high loop piles. The resultant fabric is then subjected to a shrinkage treatment effective to shrink only those piles formed of shrinkage-component yarn. In this instance, the degree of shrinkability of the shrinkage-component yarn may be such that the height of the piles formed therefrom is reduced to substantially the same or a somewhat lesser height than the height of the originally woven low loop piles. Thereafter, the fabric is sheared to remove the free end portions of the originally woven high loop piles so that, upon subsequent treatment of the fabric to remove the shrinkage-component from the shrinkage-component yarn, the loop piles of the shrinkage-component yarn are substantially restored to their original height higher than the low loop piles and the cut pilesformed from the originally woven high loop piles. The cut piles then may be of substantially the same height as the low loop piles.

Inthe drawings and specification there has been set forth preferred embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims:

I claim:

1. A method of modifying a pile fabric having at least one pile surface including certain shrunken piles of reduced height relative to other piles, and wherein said shrunken piles include a shrunken fiber component restraining the piles at said reduced height; said method comprising shearing the upper end portions of said other piles and then treating said shrunken piles to modify the shrunken fiber component thereof to nullify the restraint on the piles to permit them to extend to a greater height than they did during the shearing of said other piles.

2. A method of making a pile fabric which comprises forming the fabric with at least one loop pile surface including certain shrunken loop piles of reduced height relative to other loop piles, and wherein said shrunken loop piles include a shrunken fiber component restraining the piles at said reduced height, shearing the upper end portions of said other piles to form cut piles and then treating said shrunken loop piles to modify the shrunken fiber component thereof to nullify the restraint on the loop piles to permit them to extend to a greater heIight than they did during the shearing of said other p1 es.

3. A method of making a pile fabric which comprises Weaving a pile with at least one pile surface of substantially uniform height including certain loop piles formed of a shrinkable yarn having a relatively low-shrink component and a removable relatively high-shrink component, and including other loop piles formed of a relatively low-shrinkable yarn, shrinking said certain piles to reduce their height so said other piles protrude above said certain piles, shearing the protruding upper end port1ons from said other piles, and then removing the high-shrink component from said certain piles to permit them to extend higher than they did during the shearing of said other piles.

4. A method of making a pile fabric which comprises weaving a pile fabric with at least one pile surface of substantially uniform height and to include certain piles formed of a shrinkable yarn having a relatively lowshrink component and a soluble relatively high-shrink component, treating said certain piles to shrink them and thereby reduce their height relative to other piles of said surface, shearing the upper end portions from said other piles and then dissolving the high-shrink component from the low-shrink component in said certain piles to permit them to extend higher than they did during the shearing of said other piles.

5. A method of making a pile fabric which comprises weaving a pile fabric with at least one pile surface including certain relatively low loop piles formed of previously shrunken shrinkable yarn having a relatively lowshrink component and a removable relatively high-shrink component restraining the piles at a reduced height, and including other relatively high piles formed of other yarn devoid of such removable high-shrink component, shearing the upper end portions from said other relatively high piles, and removing the high-shrink component from said certain low loop piles to permit them to extend higher than they did during the shearing of said other piles.

6. A method of making a pile fabric which comprises forming a pile fabric with at least one pile surface of substantially uniform height including loop piles formed of a shrinkable yarn having a relatively low-shrink component and a removable relatively high-shrink component, applying a normally inactive shrinkage medium to certain of said loop piles formed of said shrinkable yarn while omitting the application of such shrinkage medium to other piles formed of said shrinkable yarn, activating the shrinkage medium such as to eifect shrinkage of and reduce the height of said certain piles relative to said other piles, shearing the upper end portions from said other piles, and removing the high-shrink component from said certain piles to permit them to extend higher than they did during the shearing of said other piles.

7. A method of making a pile fabric which comprises forming a pile fabric with at least one loop pile surface of substantially uniform height with the piles of said surface being formed of a shrinkable yarn having a relatively low-shrink component and a removable relatively high-shrink component, subjecting the piles to a shrinking treatment effective to cause the high-shrink component to reduce the height of all said piles, applying a shielding treatment to certain of said piles but omitting application of the shielding treatment to other piles, subjecting the fabric to a treatment capable of removing the high-shrink component from said other piles but shielded from removing the high-shrink component from said certain piles and thereby causing said other piles to protrude above said certain piles, shearing the upper end portions from said other piles, and then subjecting the fabric to a further treatment capable of removing the high-shrink component from said certain piles to permit them to extend higher than said other piles.

8. A method of making a pile fabric which comprises Weaving a pile fabric with at least one loop pile surface of substantially uniform height by (a) forming certain first piles from unshrunken permanently shrinkable yarn, b) forming certain seconds piles from unshrunken shrinkable yarn which includes a relatively low-shrink component and a removable relatively high-shrink component, and (c) forming certain third piles from substantially nonshrinkable yarn, subjecting the fabric to a substantially uniform shrinking treatment such that said first and second piles are reduced in height relative to said third piles, shearing the upper end portions from said third piles, and removing the high-shrink component from said second piles to permit them to protrude above said first and third piles,

and to thus form a pile surface having relatively low loops, a cut pile higher than the low loops, and a high loop pile higher than the cut pile.

9. A method of making a pile fabric which comprises weaving a pile fabric with at least one pile surface of loop piles of substantially uniform height by forming certain first piles and certain second piles from respective partially shrunken shrinkable yarn and unshrunken shrinkable yarn and wherein each shrinkable yarn includes a relatively low-shrink component and a removable relatively high-shrink component, and by forming certain third of the piles from substantially non-shrinkable yarn, subjecting the fabric to a substantially uniform shrinking treatment such that said first piles and said second piles are reduced in height relative to said third piles with said second piles being of lesser height than said first piles, shearing the upper end portions of said first and said third piles, and removing the high-shrink component from said first and second piles to cause said second piles to protrude above said third piles and to cause said first piles to protrude above said second piles.

10. A method of making a pile fabric which comprises Weaving a pile fabric with at least one loop pile surface of substantially uniform height by forming certain first piles and certain second piles from respective partially shrunken shrinkable yarn and unshrunken shrinkable yarn and where each shrinkable yarn includes a relatively low-shrink component and a removable relatively highshrink component, and by forming certain third of the piles from substantially non-shrinkable yarn, subjecting the fabric to a substantially uniform shrinking treatment such that said first piles and said second piles are reduced in height relative to said third piles with said second piles being of lesser height than said first piles, shearing the upper end portions of said third piles, and removing the high-shrink component from said first and second piles to cause said second piles to protrude above said third piles and to cause said first piles to protrude above said second piles.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 647,474 4/ 1900 Cameron 2669 1,783,608 12/1930 Ellis et a1. 28--76 1,980,191 11/1934 Dickie et al. 28--76 2,277,937 3/ 1942 Shryer 26-69 2,876,525 -3/ 1959 Janney et al 26l6 X 3,187,782 6/1965 Gattoni 26-16 X MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner. L. K. RIMRODT, Assistant Examiner, 

1. METHOD OF MODIFYING A PILE FABRIC HAVING AT LEAST ONE PILE SURFACE INCLUDING CERTAIN SHRUKEN PILES OF REDUCED HEIGHT RELATIVE TO OTHER PILES, AND WEREIN SAID SHRUNKEN PILES INCLUDE A SHRUNKEN FIBER COMPONENT RESTRAINING THE PILES AT SAID REDUCED HEIGHT; SAID METHOD COMPRISING SHEARING THE UPPER END PORTIONS OF SAID OTHER PILES AND THEN TREATING SAID SHRUNKEN PILES TO MODIFY THE SHRUNKEN FIBER COPONENT THEREOF TO NULLIFY THE RESTRAINT ON THE PILES TO PERMIT THEM TO EXTEND TO A GREATER HEIGHT THAN THEY DID DURING THE SHEARING OF SAID OTHER PILES. 